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Goo Goo Dolls Rock It Past Eleven At The Orlando Hard Rock Live

Submitted by Mango on Wed, 08/31/2016 - 12:14pm

My third time seeing Goo Goo Dolls in concert has been my most memorable show experience thus far. I saw them last year after waiting thirteen years from my first initial gig in 2002 at some fancy venue in Tampa, Florida. Last night the boys played the Hard Rock Live in Orlando along with openers Collective Soul and Tribe Society. So without further ado, let’s get right into this review.

Fellow Yanks Tribe Society were really quite interesting, in my opinion. I liked the fact they announced they were from New York, my home state! Also, their flutist really woke up the audience by jumping all around the stage as he played the flute flawlessly; they even said he could be that energetic all because the instrument was hooked up to a wireless amplifier. The group played some new tracks off their upcoming album debuting early next year, as well as putting their own spin on a classic Smashing Pumpkins track “1979” with synths and a flute; it was perfect. I thought they were a pretty good first act.

Next, we have Collective Soul where lead vocalist Ed Roland twirled his mic stand as if it were a baton. The band churned out their biggest hits: “December”, “Where The River Flows” and even did a sweet rendition of “Amazing Grace” before diving into “Shine”. Roland added a sweet tidbit about how even though they’re from Atlanta, Georgia, Orlando was the city that gave birth to Collective Soul. I also really enjoyed seeing these guys after hearing their songs on the radio for so long during my childhood.

Finally we have Goo Goo Dolls gracing the stage with their amazing music, awesome stage set and energetic performers revving up their die hard fans. Before we begin, I want to give a quick shout out to Absolute Goo who allowed me to have a media pass to shoot the band with my camera. Seeing these guys up close was such an an amazing experience unlike anything I’ve ever had. These guys were part of my childhood as well since I was 10 years old in 1995, so to finally be apart of the show is something I’ll never forget.

As with the other aforementioned bands, the band’s bassist Robby Tackac did his own rendition of “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man” from former New Kids On The Block member Jordan Knight. I thought it was hilarious they’d do their own rock and roll cover of this track originally penned by a big time pop star. From one 1980’s artist to another!

Of course they’d play their own original tracks such as, “Over and Over”, “The Pin”, “So Alive” from current album “Boxes”. They also performed other tracks from their previous record “Magnetic”: “Rebel Beat”, “Bringing On The Light” and “Come To Me”. Even though all these newer songs were on the set-list, the Goos also sang “Already There” from “Superstar Car Wash”, as well as their biggest hits from “Dizzy Up The Girl” and “A Boy Named Goo”. The latter album, as guitarist and lead vocalist John Rzeznik said, turned 21 years old just before he got into deep into their initial hit “Name”.

Overall, I had a fantastic experience at the Boxes Tour 2016 and if you’re able to go then don’t miss an opportunity to attend. Get your tix now as the tour is still in effect...you’ll thank me later!

I took lots of photos, so we’ll have them for you on our Facebook and Instagram (Nimrod_Street) at later date.